Automation: Sponsor Application Email Notifications

We’ve created two automations to send templated emails from the WordPress Community Team HelpScout inbox when a sponsor application is either:

1. ❗️ Flagged for GPLGPL GPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. or Trademark infringements (all events)
2. ✅ Approved (only for events that require vetting from the Central before uploading the sponsor invoice, or those that don’t use the sponsor invoice tool)

This setup ensures timely and consistent communication with sponsors while giving us manual control over when each email is sent.

Resources:

• Zapier credentials from 1Password
• Zap – Infringing Sponsor Email link
• Zap – Approved Sponsor Notification link
• Sponsor Vetting List

Zaps

Infringing Sponsors Email

Purpose:
To automatically notify sponsors about non-compliance issues, copying the event organizing team.

Trigger Conditions:
This Zap will trigger if all of the following conditions are met in the Sponsor Vetting Sheet:

• Sponsor is not empty
• Sponsor Email Address is not empty
• Event Name is not empty
• Status is exactly “Needs Compliance”
• Event Email is not empty
• TRIGGER: Send Infringement Email is exactly “Yes”

Action Steps:

1. Email Notification:
   An email is sent to the sponsor explaining the non-compliance issue.
   The event organizing team email (from the Event Email column) is added in CC.
2. HelpScout (HS) Ticket Tagging:
   The HelpScout conversation created by the email will include the following tags:
   • sponsor-vetting
   • sponsor-infringing

HelpScout User:
The HS ticket will be created under the user: Systems Helpers Extraordinaire, so it’s not tied to any individual account.

Approved Sponsors Notification

Purpose:
To notify the event organizing team when a sponsor is approved. This only applies to:

• Events that require vetting from the Central before uploading the sponsor invoice (e.g., WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event.)
• Events that don’t use sponsor invoices (e.g., those not running money through WPCSWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program.)

Trigger Conditions:
This Zap will trigger if all of the following conditions are met in the Sponsor Vetting Sheet:

• Sponsor is not empty
• Event Name is not empty
• Event Email is not empty
• Approved is exactly “Yes”
• TRIGGER: Send Approval Email is exactly “Yes”

Action Steps:

1. Email Notification:
   An email is sent only to the event organizing team (from the Event Email column), notifying them that the sponsor has been approved.
2. HelpScout (HS) Ticket Tagging:
   The HelpScout conversation will include the following tags:
   • sponsor-vetting
   • sponsor-approved

HelpScout User:
The HS ticket will be created under the user: Systems Helpers Extraordinaire, so it’s not tied to any individual account.

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Email Content

Infringement Email

• Sent from: support@wordcamp.org
• To: Sponsor Email Address
• CC: Event Email
• Based on legal-approved language (see example below)
• Includes dynamic content from the following cells:
  • GPL notes
  • Trademark notes

SUBJECT: Action Required: Compliance for WordPress Event Sponsorship

Dear [SPONSOR],
I’m reaching out about your interest in sponsoring [EVENT NAME].
Thank you for supporting the WordPress community! 

We greatly value your involvement and the contributions you make to our shared mission.

During a recent review, we identified some concerns regarding compliance with the WordPress Trademark Policy (https://wordpressfoundation.org/trademark-policy/) or GPL requirements. Specifically, we noticed that:
– Trademark: [CELL VALUE]
– GPL: [CELL VALUE]

Compliance with the WordPress Trademark and GPL Policy is a requirement for participating as a sponsor at WordPress events. We kindly ask that these adjustments be made within the next 15 days and that you confirm when the updates have been completed. If 15 days are not enough to complete all necessary updates, please reply to this email with an estimated timeline.

If you have any questions or need assistance to resolve this matter, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re happy to work with you to ensure compliance while supporting your continued involvement with the WordPress community.

Thank you for your understanding and prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to your confirmation soon.

Best regards,

Approval Email

• Sent from: support@wordcamp.org
• To: Event Email
• Uses a predefined approval message template
  (see example below)

SUBJECT: WordPress Event Sponsorship Approved

Dear [EVENT NAME],
We’re happy to let you know that the sponsorship application for [SPONSOR] has been approved — thank you for growing the WordPress community!
Please, feel free to reach out to the sponsor point of contact to follow up on the next steps.

If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to reply to this email.
Best regards,

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Spreadsheet Setup

Column	Purpose	Required	Notes
A	Sponsor	✅ Yes
B	Sponsor Email	✅ Yes
C	Event Name	✅ Yes	If multiple events, please separate their names using a comma
M	GPL Notes	✅ Yes (for infringements)	!! The content of this cell, will be used to populate the email content. Please be mindful of it and, if needed, indicate instructions to fix the issue.
N	Trademark Notes	✅ Yes (for infringements)	!! The content of this cell, will be used to populate the email content. Please be mindful of it and, if needed, indicate instructions to fix the issue.
S	Approved	✅ Yes (for approvals)	Needed for sending approval emails
T	Status	✅ Yes	Needed for sending infringing emails
V	Event Email	✅ Yes	If multiple events, please separate their email addresses using a comma
W	TRIGGER: Send Infringement Email	✅ Yes (for infringements)	Trigger/ Protected Range
X	TRIGGER: Send Approval Email	✅ Yes (for approvals)	Trigger / Protected Range

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Managing the Automation

• The automation is triggered when all the conditions described above are met, regardless of which column is filled in last. However, to ensure a smoother process, let’s treat the trigger columns (“TRIGGER: Send Infringement Email” and “TRIGGER: Send Approval Email”) as actual triggers. This means typing “Yes” in these columns should be the very last step, once we’re ready to send out the emails.
• To trigger an email, type “Yes” in the appropriate column.
• Be careful when filing the information in the mandatory columns.
• GPL column
  • if no infringements, write “All good” 
  • if not applicable, write “Not applicable”
  • if infringing, explain the infringement in the easiest possible way and write the recommended instruction on how to fix it or the request you have (example of an appropriate note: “Could you please share the link to the GPL page with us?”)
• Trademark column
  • if no infringements, write “All good” 
  • if infringing, explain the infringement in the easiest possible way and write the recommended instruction on how to fix (example of an appropriate note: “The [page links 1, 2, 3] mentions ‘WordPress hosting’, please replace all mentions with ‘hosting for WordPress’)

Important

1. After triggering the infringing email, we check on HS if the email was sent and we add the HS link to column Y
2. After adding the HS link, we update the status to “Needs follow up” and remove the “Yes” from the email triggering column.

Zap Set Up

Below are the screenshots outlining the steps to set up the automation:

1. Connect the app and configure the initial settings.

• App: Google Sheet
• Event: New or Updated Spreadsheet Row
• Spreadsheet: Sponsor Vetting List
• Worksheet: Sponsor Summary
• Trigger column: TRIGGER: Send Infringing Email (could also be eliminated)

2. Add filters and conditions to define when the automation should run.

• App: FilterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. by Zapier
• Event: Only continue if…
  • Column A – exists and
  • Column B – exists and
  • Column C – exists and
  • Column V – exists and
  • Column T – “Needs Compliance” and
  • Column W – “exists”Yes”

3. Select the action to perform in HelpScout and complete the configuration.

• App: HelpScout
• Event: Create Conversation
• Account: connect with your account
• Subject: modify as needed
• Mailbox: WordPress Community Team
• Customer’s Email: Column B
• From User: Systems Helpers Extraordinaire
• Thread Type: reply
• Text: modify as needed
• Status: closed
• Assigned User: empty
• TagTag Tag is one of the pre-defined taxonomies in WordPress. Users can add tags to their WordPress posts along with categories. However, while a category may cover a broad range of topics, tags are smaller in scope and focused to specific topics. Think of them as keywords used for topics discussed in a particular post.: sponsor-infringing, sponsor-vetting
• Cc: Column V
• Bcc: empty
• Import Only: No
• Trigger Auto Reply: No

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Maintenance Tips

• Make sure all required fields are filled before triggering the email.
• If updating many rows at once, wait for a few minutes between updates to avoid rate limits on Zapier.
• To update or change the email content, edit the HelpScout action in the Zap.

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Infringing Companies Follow-Up

If an infringing sponsor decides to withdraw their application and refuses to address the trademark violations, we’ll send one final email using the HelpScout saved reply titled “Sponsor Withdraws – Refuses to Comply.”